Happily Ever After Howl and Sophie One Shots
by Chris-San
Summary: A few short stories concerning life in the castle after the events of the novel, as Howl and Sophie's relationship deepens. Based on the book.
1. Of Bullies and Burning Broomsticks

She wondered if she would ever feel comfortable in a crowd. It had been almost a month since the curse had been lifted, returning Sophie to her old, young self again. Now, as she walked the familiar market of Chipping, bartering with vendors and smiling at people she had known all her life, she was struck time and time again by how little things had changed. For all intents and purposes, Market Chipping looked the same as always, only slightly less crowded and slightly less festive than it was on that fated May day not too long ago.

And that was what bothered her.

Because, despite the fact that Market Chipping remained the same, Sophie had not. She had learned many things over the last two months, being a 90 year old woman did that to people, and she was no longer the shy little mouse Howl had accused her of being when they had first met. Now her strides took her through the busiest streets and shops with confidence, shoulders back, head high, basket swinging easily by her side.

Or at least, that was what she liked to believe.

Still, with everything around her being so familiar, it took a conscious effort on her part to avoid falling back into her old routines. She'd sometimes catch herself unwillingly shying away from large, busy open spaces, or looking for a corner to duck into in order to avoid a crowd passing her on the sidewalk. Worse, there were moments when she actually felt that old, senseless fear welling up inside her chest accompanied by the confounded desire to be utterly invisible. It was frustrating, but hopefully it would pass, one day, eventually…

Sophie sighed and wondered if maybe she should have waited a little longer before going out to do her grocery shopping. It was just after noon, the busiest time in Market chipping. Most businesses shut down for lunch at this time and their employees would leave and wander out into the market, looking for lunch or needing to run other errands. But Martha had gotten the afternoon and evening off, which meant that she would have to finish her shopping now while Micheal was still around to mind the shop for her. Somehow, she doubted he or Martha would return to their respective homes anytime before the sun set. In an off hand way, Sophie wondered whether or not she should be worried about how close those two were becoming, but then she trusted them both so much, and it wasn't as if she was in any position to accuse them. After all, unlike Martha, Sophie was actually living with her fiancé.

Oh she knew it was a scandal, but she didn't really care. The rumors were much more bearable than the alternative of leaving the castle, so she didn't mind so much. And for all the talk that had been happening (some people just didn't have the knack for being discreet) there hadn't actually been a great deal happening between her and Howl. Yes they had kissed, sometimes passionately, but that was the extent of their physical relationship thus far. Sophie was still getting accustomed to her own emotions, particularly those she hadn't been able to feel as a 90 year old woman. Returned to her natural age, they had hit her with enough sudden force to rattle her quite thoroughly and Howl had respected that well enough. Sometimes, the braggart would even take it as a compliment. Humph.

Then there was that part of her which had always believed that such things were to be saved for after marriage, and even though she understood now that things were different in Howl's world of Wales, she wasn't quite ready to let go of that belief just yet. Also, if she happened to get pregnant, the rumors would become infinitely worse. Their wedding would be labeled as "shot gun" and their child would probably be teased and taunted throughout his or her younger years for it, and that was one thing Sophie would not allow.

So she resolved to wait until after the wedding, which she wasn't about to let happen until she had been properly introduced to Howl's family, and they invited to the wedding. Howl, however, hadn't been to keen on the idea, and recently it was this more than anything that caused quarrels between them. She would blame him for the delay, and call him a slitherer or a coward. He would retort that his family was his business, and she would do better to kindly keep her long nose out of it.

Then there were other times when they weren't arguing, and these would make her smile. For example, occasionally he would bring home a gift for her, such as the summer outfit she was wearing today. He had simply come home with it one day, declaring, with grand gestures and no little amount of mellifluous language, that he had seen it and known it had been made for her. And it was. The long, shapely blue skirt brought out the colour of her eyes and made her red-gold hair seem even more vibrant than usual. The matching summer blouse was white with enough embroidery in gold, blue and silver thread to appease his taste for embellishment without being what she deemed excessive or gaudy. She had loved it instantly, as she did all his gifts, which were of the same fashion. Even more, after all the fanfare and flattery were over with, she loved the way he would look at her, watching her intently when he didn't think she was aware of it, a smile of utter contentment on his lips, and something much deeper flickering in his emerald eyes-

"Omf!"

Sophie fell backwards, realizing, even before she hit the ground that she should have been paying more attention to where she was walking, that all her groceries were probably going to be ruined, and that this was probably going to hurt a bit, but hopefully not too much, and hopefully the person she had run into wouldn't be hurt either. And hopefully her clothes…

"Splash!"

Oh gods, her clothes…no that wasn't important. "Are you alright?"

She had inevitably managed to land in some greasy mud hole in the middle of the open air market, a place the cobblestones had either been removed from or had never been put down in the first place. She wanted to curse and imagined she looked quite a site as she felt her undergarments become utterly soaked and cool spots appear all over her body where the resultant splash had landed.

"Crazy woman! Watch where you're going!"

Sophie suddenly thought she hadn't been going fast enough to be thrown this hard, and secondly, that the unfriendly voice sounded vaguely familiar. In no hurry now to see if the other man was okay, she took her time flicking mud off her hand in order to wipe dampened strands of hair from her eyes.

She instantly wished she hadn't.

"Wai, you're the…You're the cursed Hatter whore! Bloody figures." And with that, the man turned to walk away. Billy, Billy Bunderburr, who had been the bane of her existence all throughout her school years… And he had just called her…

She had to steel her courage for a second, but only a second, for he was getting away.

"Excuse me!"

Her most indignant, commanding voice came out sounding panicked and rushed as she stood quickly, feeling water slide down her legs in an almost sickening fashion. But she wasn't going to let him do that to her. Billy had been the biggest bully in all her years of schooling, and always seemed to enjoy picking on her, the "cursed" eldest hatter, the most. Maybe it was because she had too much pride to tell the teacher, and didn't want to worry her new step-mother, or busy father, or her younger sisters with her stupid school problems. Maybe it was because she stood out among her other students as a loner with very few friends, and therefore easy to pick on. Maybe it had been both these things, maybe none of them. For her part, Sophie wasn't interested in finding out why Billy had always bullied her, she was more concerned with what that bullying had accomplished. At first, she remembered, at first she had always fought him; angry when he called her names, furious when he had ruined her school things, livid whenever he made jabs at her sisters. She wasn't quite sure when she had stopped sticking up for herself, but somewhere alone the way, the fight in her had dimmed, lessened. Billy had friends, she didn't, so she was always hopelessly out numbered. Eventually she had gotten tired of fighting and just wanted to be left alone. She stuck to the corners of the school yard, hoping not to be noticed.

THAT was the old Sophie, the NEW Sophie was stronger than that, braver than that. The Sophie she was now wasn't going to let herself be bullied again.

So, when Billy refused to stop, Sophie stood her ground, and in her most commanding voice, called out "Shoes, stick to the ground and don't move until I say so!"

That stopped Billy dead in his tracks, his confusion evident for all of three seconds before he realized what had happened.

"Dammit bloody wizard's whore! Let me go right now!"

By this time a small crowd had gathered around them. Sophie blushed a bit, but held her ground, marching forward, turning so she could face her adversary in a blaze of fury that had often sent both her sisters running when they were younger.

"Apologize." She wasn't about to get into a school yard yelling match over this, but she was determined to teach him some manners. The fact that he would also be forced to eat humble pie was just an added bonus.

"As if I'd apologize to a loose woman like you, Sophie Hatter." He continued struggling with his shoes.

She felt her anger grow just a bit more. "It's polite to apologize when you run into someone, Billy."

"As if someone could miss running into a fat mare like you. Now let me go." He had given up on trying to get free by now, and turned to face her directly.

Sophie forced a sickeningly sweet smile onto her face. "As soon as you apologize."

"Or you'll what? Turn me into a toad? I'd still look better than you're ugly horse's ass of a face."

Sophie frowned. The crowd was gathering. It was not supposed to go like this, maybe she could end it some way.

"That Howl fuck must be pretty desperate if he's sleeping with a cow like you huh? You know, I always figured you'd be a prostitute Sophie. Comes of being the eldest eh?"

"For you're information Howl and I are engaged, you dim-witted, hook nosed-"

"HA! Ugly AND stupid eh Hatter. Face it, he's using you for the hole between your legs and nothing more."

"You lewd, useless, stupid…y-you never even finished school!"

"No, unlike some people, I went out and got a RESPECTABLE job. Which I'm LATE for now LET ME GO!"

"Apologize!"

"Go fuck yourself, no one else would want to you ugly mare!"

"Why you… you…" She was sputtering now. There was a tight feeling in her chest and her eyes were burning. She couldn't cry, she couldn't! "Since you re-refuse to learn any manners I hope you-you…" and what could she say to get the upper hand, "I hope you're hair falls out and your eyes become permanently crossed!"

She was all but screaming by the end of it, and only in the silence that followed did she become aware of the fact that every eye in the open market was turned in their direction.

And then she realized what she had said.

"AH! My EYES! What have you DONE to my EYES!"

But Sophie couldn't move, frozen in utter horror. There before her was Billy, stuck to the pavement, rubbing at his eyes which were locked on her in a permanently crossed gaze. He screamed at her, spit on her, he even went so far as to lunge at her, but Sophie was already out of reach, stepping slowly backwards, feeling herself shake like a leaf, muttering 'no's and 'I'm sorry's over and over again until she was screaming it at the top of her lungs. She must have said something right because suddenly, Billy fell forward, missing her by a good meter now. He stared up at her briefly, eyes straight and wide with terror, and then a second later, he turned and ran in the opposite direction as if hell itself were on his heels. Sophie was left alone in a circle of wide eyed on lookers. Choking back a sob, she forced herself to her feet and began to run in the opposite direction and nearly stumbled when she realized the crowd was parting before her, people rushing frantically to all sides in order to avoid getting in her way.

It was mid afternoon when the back door of the shop creaked open just enough to allow one timid blue eye to peek between the door and the frame. Seeing the shop closed and empty, the curtains drawn to prevent the harsh afternoon sunlight from wilting the remaining flowers, the blue, white and sludge coloured figure ducked into the shop, closing the door hurriedly behind her. Holding her breath, Sophie waited for Michael or Calcifer, or even Howl (if he was back from seeing the King early) to call out and ask who was there. Hearing no one, she deeply sighed, allowing herself to sink back against the door and slide to the floor, leaving a mark of brown ooze as she went.

She was glad no one was around to see her or the putrid result of all her supreme foolishness. Honestly, what had she been thinking. Standing up like that, making a scene, foolishly using her magic to, to…to curse another human being! "Goodness," she thought to herself, "I'm no better than the witch of the waste. What would Howl think about that?" And she shivered and stood, heading to the bathroom in order to keep the lump in her throat at bay.

Calcifer returned home first, arriving promptly an hour before dinner just as Sophie had asked him to, even though he had grumbled about it all through breakfast and right until the second he had flown up the chimney and vanished. Still relishing in his freedom, Caclifer enjoyed his afternoon flights around the countryside as a perfect blue blaze camouflaged into a perfectly blue sky. He was not happy about being asked to return, and yet there had been no other fire in Calcifer's place since the day he had been set free, despite Sophie's offers to light one in order to give the demon more time. Sometimes Sophie wondered if fire demons were territorial creatures, though it seemed unlikely that she would ever be able to meet another free fire demon in order to ask.

Today was no different than any other day, Calcifer came back ready to grumble about being exploited, only to find Sophie in her old gray dress, down on all fours, scrubbing at what seemed to be the last of a brownish, blackish stain.

"Humph! How rude. I come all the way back here right on time at your request, only to find that you haven't even started preparing anything for me to cook."

Despite his cheerless tone, the fire demon couldn't help but smirk as Sophie nearly jumped into an upright kneeling position and sent her brush skittering several feet across the floor. "Calcifer!"

"Who else?" his smirk grew, "I can see now why Howl thought you were a grey mouse when you first met. Have you always been this jumpy?" He waggled his green eyebrows and cackled at his own little joke. Sophie brought her hand down from where she had pressed it against her chest and began reaching for her scrub brush once again. "Foolish" she muttered, but Calcifer didn't hear her.

When his moment of mirth had passed, Calcifer looked up once again to find Sophie emptying the bucket into the sink before putting it away in the corner of the broom closet/hall passage again. He watched her, the silence growing more awkward by the second. "Satisfied now? Then you should probably think of making dinner. I'm not bound here by contract anymore you know, I could leave at any moment, and I'd rather not waste time here if I'm not needed." He crossed his long blue arms and frowned at her in a put out way.

Sophie didn't seem to notice though. She had paused in the act of re-arranging the mops and brooms so they wouldn't fall over, her back to the hearth. She headed to the pantry in silence then, staring at the shelves, a troubled furrow upon her brow. Calcifer's suspicion of something being wrong grew, only to be mildly relieved when the young woman let out a snort and stomped her foot in an angry sort of gesture. It seemed a normal enough, Sophie like a thing to do. He was further relieved when she muttered something and snatched a pot from the wall as if she had chosen a weapon and was heading out to war.

"Beans tonight Calcifer." She said, slamming the pot on the workbench, followed by two cans of beans and a can opener. Her mouth set in a grim line, she worked the two cans open and all but threw the contents together in a pot.

"But I hate beans!" Calcifer protested, "and Howl does too." He added, just for good measure.

"So what." There was a distinctly bitter quality about her voice that caused Calcifer's eyebrows to arch. Sophie sighed and slowly wrapped her apron around the handle of the pot. As she approached him, her footsteps soft, without the stomping quality that usually accompanied her anger.

"I won't make you eat them." She said quietly, her voice almost pleading. Calficer blinked dumbly for a second, and the quietly bent his head.

Howl stumbled over a rut in the road, "Oh, Botheration!" and continued to walk as fast as he could towards the mansion entrance of his home. At this moment, all he really wanted was a good, strong drink, maybe three, preferably in a small pub somewhere in Wales, as far away from this blasted kingdom and its rot-brained rulers as possible. Damn them, damn the war, and damn his ever becoming royal wizard!

Maybe it was about time he disappeared for a while, but where? It wasn't like he could just go back to Wales and live with Megan again, Sophie would never allow it, come to think of it, she would never approve of him slithering out in the first place.

Howl sighed as he approached the gates and the front step. Maybe Sophie would understand. After all, she had broken the contract in order to prevent him from "going to the bad" and in Howl's book, making a spell that would instantly kill or maim half the men in Strangia's army definitely qualified as "bad." It was horrible, what they wanted him to do, absolutely, unimaginably terrible, and he had to choose between that, or losing any hope he had of supporting his current lifestyle and future. It was tragic!

The feeling of impending tragedy only deepened the moment he stepped through the door.

"Beans," He moaned, sniffing delicately, nobly, "I hate beans." He turned an imploring gaze to Sophie, who was conveniently mopping the floor at the other side of the room, her back turned to him. "Sophie, you know I hate beans."

When Sophie didn't answer, he continued.

"And what are you wearing that old dress for? Didn't I buy you a nicer one? What about that blue one? It looked so pretty on you…"

Receiving no answer, he realized that Sophie was intent on ignoring him, and sank melodramatically into the chair facing the fire, where Calcifer's green flames continued to heat the bubbling pot of beans.

"Howl…" Calcifer whispered to him, but Howl interrupted him.

"At least you aren't ignoring me, old blue face." He sighed dramatically, "I don't even know what I've done. I buy her expensive things, shower her with love and affection, give her my heart and she scorns me, denies me the sight of her beauty and feeds me baked beans."

"uh, Howl…"

"Even my apprentice's love life is more fulfilling than mine. His love feeds him pies and cakes, they stay out until the early morning together, watching romantic sunrises.

"That's a load of bull, and Howl…"

"And my wife-to-be is so horribly clean she'd rather clean the floor than prepare her fiancé a proper dinner…Oh…"

"Howl!"

"You're not even listening to me, some friend you ar…

"HOWL!"

"Oh fine! What is it…"

An ear piercing shriek caused Howl to whip his head around, mid sentence, and for a moment, he could only stand there and blink, too stunned to move. There were flames coming off of Sophie's dress, and the broom handle she had dropped to the floor had been charred black in her grip. She screamed, turning around, beating her arms which only seemed to spread the fire. Howl caught one look at her frantic eyes and suddenly leapt into action.

"Water Calcifer! Water! Lots of it!" He didn't even look up as he grabbed Sophie around the waist and hauled her as quickly as he could into the bathroom. The showerhead sputtered to life and Howl lifted Sophie over the edge of the tub before joining her to stand directly under the heavy, cooling spray. His future wife continued to whimper and bat at her arms as a steam rose up around them. Howl had to work to keep her still.

"Sophie. Sophie look at me! Sophie!"

He grabbed her face, holding it with both hands as he forced her to look into his eyes.

"Sophie!"

And then with a gasp she was looking directly into his face, as though she had just realized he was there.

"…how-wl?..." Her breathing made her stutter, and for a moment, Howl couldn't move. What had happened to his Sophie? His bossy, impossibly clean, horribly nosy little Sophie. He would never have thought it possible for her to look so broken, and instinctively, he pulled her soaking form closer.

"Sophie…it's okay."

"howl…"

"It's okay…"

When the first wail rose up in her throat he'd thought he had hurt her, and nearly pushed her away. She clung to him though, burying her face in the wet fabric of the new teal and copper suite she had made just for him. There, she let loose sobs so heartbreaking that Howl almost wished he could renew his contract with Calcifer, just to be able to lessen the suffocating pain in his chest. Alas, all he could do was rub her back, whisper comforting nothings into her ear, and stare blinking into spray of the shower to ward of the sting of his own eyes. Stupid soft heart.

It was about at this point that Howl realized he was standing knee deep in water. Curious, he snuck a peek at the tub below him, only to find it filled with muddy dark water with hints of blue, white, and brown fabric swirled in. Portions of it looked awfully familiar, and Howl clenched his jaw as he realized it was the blue dress he'd bought her not too long ago. The one he'd been moaning about earlier.

He was a heel. Whatever he had said out there in the main room had only made Sophie feel worse about whatever had been bothering her, he was certain of it. However, instead of turning around and yelling at him like he had most certainly expected her to do, she had taken it all in and bottled it up like a slowly smoldering spark. Howl didn't know why she kept it in, or why she had directed it inwardly on herself, instead of at him, but the result was that her bottled anger had reached a fever pitch, manifesting itself in flames much like Howl's perfected ability to produce oodles of green slime at will.

Well, at least he had explained the fire part anyway. The hard part would be prying out of Sophie what had set her off in the first place, but to do that he would have to calm her down. Kissing her temple, Howl used his magic to turn off the cold water, and waited as her sobs turned to hiccups, and eventually to soft, sporadic sniffles. It was only then that the wizard dared release her from his embrace, using one hand to gently coax her own free from his shirt, and the other to lift her face to look once again into his eyes. Unable to resist, he stooped to kiss her, lifting water drops off her cheek bone as she sniffled again and gave the slightest of whimpers.

"H-howl, I…"

"Shhhh…not yet _cariad_. Soon though."

He pulled back and flashed her his most handsome, comforting smile before focusing his attention down on the arm he held in his hand. While the heat from the flames shouldn't have hurt her, since they were caused by her own magic, the heat from the burning material was a different matter entirely. Howl examined the red welts left on her skin and was momentarily grateful that Sophie's grey dress had been worn almost as thin as paper, or the damage might have been worse. As it was, he conjured up a bottle of Ozonal from Megan's first aid kit and began rubbing it on the scorched skin. He repeated the process with Sophie's other arm before lifting his love lightly out of the bathtub again. He set her down gently and turned his back.

"I won't look," he said. "You should get out of those ruined clothes." He heard quiet shifting behind him, and, in order to distract himself from wayward thoughts, reached for the can of drying powder and sprinkled a generous amount over himself. When there was silence again, he turned around, only to have his breath get stuck in his throat. Yes, Sophie was covered, but only by a swimming towel which left very little to the imagination. The fact that she was blushing only made the lump in his throat seem that much harder to swallow. It felt like a full minute before Howl could re-gain his ability to speak.

"…S-Sophie…" He saw her flinch and was instantly upon her, embracing her, kissing her, nuzzling the mane of red-gold hair that streamed damply down her back. He repeated her name like a mantra and punctuated it with kisses. "You're beautiful." He assured her, and almost whopped for joy when he felt her clutch at the material of his shirt again with one hand.

"Humph. Flattery will get you no where, Mr. Jenkins." But there was no edge in her voice, and when he looked there was a faint smile on her lips which made him want to grin from ear to ear for the next week.

"Sophie." He said.

MY Sophie, he thought.

"I'll kill him!" Sophie winced, sure that even the people in Wales had heard his murderous roar through their bedroom window.

"Howl."

"I'll turn him into a toad! No, a worm! That little slime! You should have left him there, you should have-"

"Howl! Calm down!"

The wizard stopped pacing long enough to spin around and meet Sophie's gaze, and the former hatter almost swore she could see steam coming from his ears.

Howl checked himself at her command, and began taking deep breaths in a visible effort to calm himself down. There was a reason Howl hated getting angry. Sophie wasn't the only one who had inadvertently used magic in a moment of rage. Thankfully, Gareth had possessed far too little imagination to comprehend the meaning of his sudden desire to catch flies with his tongue.

Feeling more in control of himself, he opened his eyes only to meet the gaze of his lovely fiancé, who just so happened to be sitting on their bed, still in nothing more than a towel.

"I should have just left well enough alone." She muttered, and once again Howl began to frown.

"That's preposterous! Ridiculous! Utter and total nonsense! You had every right to stand up for yourself. And that primitive boor deserved every bit of what you gave him, and more."

"…so…you don't think I was a fool?"

Howl, who had started pacing again, stopped dead upon hearing her quiet words, and wished more than ever to find this rot "Billy" and stick his well made boot straight up the little blighter's ars.

"…Sophie, come here." Howl didn't leave any room for argument as he grabbed her by one wrist and pulled her over to the full length mirror, setting her directly in front of it. Sophie protested his slightly forced treatment, trying to keep the towel wrapped securely around her, and therefore failed to notice the one hand that crept up her back, grabbed onto the edge of the towel, and with one solid jerk, pulled it completely off her body.

"Gyak! HOWL!" She attempted to cover herself with her arms and make a simultaneous dash for the bed, but Howl held her firmly before him.

"Shhh Sophie, Shhhh.

"Dammit Howl! If you don't let go of me this Instant I'll…"

"You won't do a single thing to me Miss Nose. Not until you calm down and listen to everything I have to say." And to Howl's great relief, she did calm down. Slowly, she stopped her struggling in favor of glaring at him through their combined reflection in the mirror, her white skin glowing, her strawberry hair glittering, against the backdrop of himself, dressed in teal, copper, and black.

"You're beautiful." The husky gasp was ripped from his mouth as the wind left his body in a hard rush of air.

Sophie's eyes narrowed further and she scrunched her nose. "And I told you, Howl, flattery will get you nowhere."

"That's just the point you insufferably stubborn woman." His words were a growl of frustration and he gave her shoulders a light shake to emphasis his words. "Its not flattery, not in the least. You are absolutely, breathtakingly beautiful! And if Billy can't see that, has hasn't got eyes, nor brains, nor anything in him that make his words worth a lick of consideration. And yet somehow, you prefer to believe what he says rather than opening your eyes and seeing exactly what is in front of your face. Look!" And he pointed her gaze forward into the mirror, watching her scowl thoughtfully.

At long last she let out an indignant snort. "Not as beautiful as you," she muttered.

Howl let out a long suffering sigh. "Yes as beautiful as me. Even more beautiful than me, if you must know." The last part was spoken rather quietly, and had Sophie's eyebrows arching in disbelief. Howl bowed his head nobly in anguish. "I'm not beautiful. Not really. It's all just a disguise. Just spells and magic. I'm a fraud, in truth. Not even you could love me if you knew how ugly I truly was."

Sophie highly doubted that, but all the same, she was intrigued, and it showed on her face as she watched him, expectantly.

Eventually, Howl let out another sigh that bespoke of ages of lonely suffering, and backed away from her with exaggerated effort. "Very well, if you must know the horrible truth, I will give you what your heart desires, out of the depths of my love. Stand back, this won't be pretty." And he removed the top half of his shirt, stripping down to his black trousers, dropping everything else over the back of the chair in the corner. With one final melodramatic sigh, and one last tragic glance at Sophie's unflinching face, Howl closed his eyes and bowed his head.

For a stretching moment, nothing happened.

And then it seemed as if all the colour on his hair had solidified, dropping to the formerly clean carpet in a shower of impossibly fine blond dust. Sophie had to bite her tongue to keep from protesting, and a moment later, Howl raised his head.

"There, are you happy now? My shame has been revealed, my dignity shattered, all for the sake of my love."

Sophie probably would have let out a sarcastic snort if her mouth hadn't already hung slightly open in disbelief. This was it? Howl's big secret? With the way he had been going on, Sophie was almost disappointed he hadn't started sprouting giant black bird feathers or something of the sort. Instead, his well groomed golden locks had been replaced by a wiry, wooly mass of thick brown hair, which seemed to posess a dark grayish hue. She could now also plainly see the stubble that had grown on his face throughout the day, and a few fine wrinkles that had appeared around his eyes. The overall effect was one of stormy ruggedness, which brought out the green in his eyes the same way rain renews the vibrancy of the fields and hills. Sure, maybe it didn't follow the common conventions or fads of beauty in the world today, but all the same, Sophie found him breathtaking.

"You're speechless, I knew you would be. I'm the most horrid looking man in the entire universe. No no, don't lie to me. I know its true. Go, run away, flee, I won't stop you."

And with that, buried his face in his hands, and sunk down into a depressed hunch on the foot of their bed.

Sophie frowned, and suddenly became aware of the fact that she was still naked. Blushing ever so slightly, she turned, observing herself in the mirror once again. Actually, come to think of it, she had never really looked at herself naked before. Turning slightly, she examined herself in profile, and had to admit that, while she may not have stopped traffic, she was also certainly no where near as hideous as the likes of Billy would have claimed. Come to think of it, she really had nothing to be ashamed of at all, and she HAD been right to demand an apology from Billy that afternoon in the market. Sure, maybe she had lost her cool, but that overgrown school bully had goaded her into it, and she was sure it would not happen agai-

Sophie blinked. Was that, a sob she had heard? Yes, it was, and her head spun around so fast that, had she been old, she might have done some real damage.

"Howl?"

His head was still buried in his hands, and his shoulders were shaking, just ever so slightly. Sophie had no doubt that mostly crocodile tears were being shed, but at the same time she realized that Howl must have in some ways believed that he looked ugly as he was now, if only for the fact that he never allowed himself to be seen in his natural state.

And suddenly, a slow smile graced her lips.

As for Howl, he never knew what hit him. One minute he had been sitting at the foot of the bed wallowing in self pity, the next he found himself lying flat on his naked back, with an even more naked Sophie lowering herself onto him, wrapping her lithe arms around his neck, her nimble fingers sinking, winding into his thick hair.

"s-sophmmmf!"

His hands instantly found their way to her ribs and he gripped her firmly even though he was unable to decide to either pull her closer or push her away. In the back of his mind the thought flashed that she must have become possessed for she had never been this forward with him before, never instigated a kiss before, and yet here she was sprawled out on top of him, her chest pressed against his, her hands clawing at his back and shoulders, her naked bottom easily within reach, her knees…level…with his…hips…

He tore away from her, seeking air as his mind lost the fight against the overwhelming desire to crush her body into his with violent force. Sophie didn't protest as she wafted hot breath against his cheek and he relished in every panting tremor of her stomach and chest moving against his own.

"S-sophie…" it had taken a tremendous amount of effort on his part to coordinate his mouth with his brain and spit out that one word in a husky gasp. He felt quite proud of himself and promptly decided he didn't need to say anything more for the moment.

"Mmmm…Howl."

The rasp in her voice sent shivers all the way to his toes. His hands spasmed against her back. He hadn't reacted this strongly to anyone since he had been a schoolboy in Wales. Get a grip man!

Still, it took another couple of seconds before he could formulate words again, and this time, he had managed get enough space between them too look his beloved in the face.

"Sophie, what…what?"

His fiancé smiled at him and bent down to divine his lips with a short, tender kiss.

"I just realized how ridiculous it is for two beautiful people to sit in a room arguing over which one looks worse." She fingered his hair, adding, "And you are beautiful Howl, just the way you are."

"I am, aren't I?"

Sophie pulled back, instantly regretting having fed his already oversized ego.

"But I look even MORE beautiful when my hair is blond, don't you think?"

The wizard smiled as Sophie collapsed against him in exasperation, burying her face in the crook between his shoulder and neck.

"No." she said firmly, "But don't let it go to your head."

Meanwhile, somewhere else in the vicinity of Market Chipping…

"Ahh! My hair, my beautiful hair."

Billy gripped the little bits of thin black hair that remained on his scalp in the hopes of preventing them from falling off. Alas, it was in vain, and the roots of the remaining hair soon let loose, leaving him completely bald.

"CURSE YOU SOPHIE HATTER!"

The End


	2. Blood and Money Part 1

Sophie took a deep breath. This was it. Today was the day she would be formally introduced to her soon-to-be in-laws. She found herself fiddling with her shorter than usual skirt, praying she didn't trip in these mid-length boots with higher than normal heels. She knew she could trust Howl's sense of fashion, especially when it came to his own world of Wales. She just didn't understand why her own clothes couldn't have sufficed for just this trip, for as much as she "trusted" Howl to dress her, she felt like a trollop, and that made her uncomfortable. Being out of fashion she could live with, tripping and falling flat on her face she probably couldn't.

She let out a snort and Howl abruptly turned to her, pausing in their walk towards the house, Rivendell. "Nervous Sophie? You know, we could always come back another time? Or better yet, skip the whole thing all together. Megan's not such an interesting person. And Gareth-"

"Stuff it Howl." Sophie set her jaw and walked forward, Howl trailing despondently behind. They had been through this already, half a million times at least. Despite what Howl might think, they were still his family and they deserved to know, just as much as she deserved to be known and formally acknowledged by them. It was actually the latter point that caused Sophie to insist upon this meeting. For all her talk on tradition, there had always been this silent fear that, for some reason, Howl was ashamed of her, unwilling to officially announce his affection for her to the people who were closest to him.

It wasn't until later that she realized she was only one aspect of Howl's life that had remained hidden from his family. She was reminded of this again as Howl paused in the act of pulling his keys out of the pocket of his "WALES RUGBY" jacket. "Remember now," he whispered "you can't mention the castle, or Calcifer, or the fact that I'm a wizard, or the king, or…"

"Or anything to do with magic or Ingary. Yes Howl, I understand."

Howl nodded solemnly, before clearing his throat and smoothing back his blond locks one final time. Then he inserted the key, and with a little twist, pushed the door open. Once inside, Howl moved purposefully beyond the entry way and into the hall, towards the door that led to the orange and brown room with the talking magic box inside. Sophie just stood there, wondering if maybe they shouldn't have tried knocking. Both their thoughts were cut short as Megan appeared in a door further down the hall, and all but screamed her brother's name.

"Howl!"

Both heads shot up and Howl's jaw dropped in stunned silence. He didn't remain that way long, however, as his sister suddenly marched forward, frying pan at the ready and murder in her eyes.

"What are you doing here! No, forget it. Just get out! Leave! I want nothing to do with you now Howl. Go!"

Howl was on the back pedal now, and Sophie found herself doing much the same. The wizard seemed completely caught off guard by this assault, though Sophie sensed that this might not have been the first time the older Jenkins sibling had taken after her brother with a pan. She began to worry, however, when Megan's voice began rising from anger into mild hysterics.

"Whatever it is you want, you're not getting it. I'm tired of you sucking us dry, you lazy, good for nothing waste. This is all your fault, I swear it!

"Megan. Megan calm down"

"I will NOT calm down you, you, bastard! I swear you're not my brother! I don't have a brother. My brother would have a job and wouldn't live leeching off his older sister and her husband, eating their food and borrowing their money without paying it back and…and he wouldn't bring his harlots to my house and…"

That seemed to do it. With one quick move Howl grabbed the hand that held the frying pan and pressed it firmly to the wall. The rest of his sister followed suit with a firm shove from Howl's fore arm which doubly served to pin the hysterical, now crying woman. Sophie saw the fear in her fiancé's eyes as he motioned her to grab the pan, which she did, prying it from Megan's grasp as gently as possible. It wasn't long after that the poor woman seemed to collapse sobbing into Howl's arms. Howl comforted her as best he could, all the while casting worried glances in Sophie's direction. Nobody thought about the engagement.

It took a while, but the three of them finally managed to make their way into the kitchen. Sophie felt awkward and useless, sitting beside a slowly composing Megan as Howl dashed around the space, working the strange appliances and going through cupboards, muttering something about "tea". He was stopped when Megan, while wiping her eyes announced, "Don't bother. There isn't any."

Howl frowned, opening a cupboard and reaching up to the very highest shelf. A second later he pulled away, a tense, triumphant grin on his face. "Ah, my old stash." He declared. In his hand, Sophie recognized their own jar for storing tea from the castle. If she had been in the mood, Sophie would have let out an indignant snort at his hypocrisy. After all, he had been the one who told her "No magic!"

Megan didn't seem to notice. She sent him a nonplussed glare and returned to cradling her head in her hands. Sophie fiddled with her skirt nervously as Howl set a rather chipped and mix-matched set of cups down before them. His face was calm and he radiated an aura of comfort, someone capable of being trusted. It was forced though, and Sophie immediately got the impression that whatever was wrong, it was starting to alarm Howl more than just a little. They sat together for a long, awkward moment, Megan staring at the table, Howl staring at Megan, and Sophie staring at her tea. At long length, Megan finally spoke.

"Whatever you're here for Howl, I don't have it. You might as well leave…"

"I didn't come here for anything."

Another long pause, and Sophie thought, "Only to tell her you're getting married" but that would have been selfish given the circumstances.

"Megan," Howl began, "what happened? There's no food in the cupboards. Mom's good china is gone…where's Mar-"

"Stop it Howl, just stop it! It's nothing you could help with anyhow." Megan's head sunk lower, the tips of her hair trailing in her tea.

"I can't if you don't tell me what's wrong." Howl offered.

The glare Megan sent him was acid, but eventually she sighed and returned to brooding over her mug.

"Gareth was laid off from the steel works four months ago." she began, her voice monotone as if repeating a well rehearsed speech. "We thought he could find another job, but the economy's been bad. We didn't have too much saved either, and the bank threatened to foreclose our mortgage. We were going to declare bankruptcy, but then suddenly Gareth got an interview, and he was almost certain he'd got the job. We just needed a little money to tie us over until his first paycheck, so we could keep the house…" and here she broke off, letting out a long, weary sigh. "…so Gareth heard through a friend, about some people who were willing to lend others money. The interest was high, but we figured we could pay it back soon enough-"

"A LOAN SHARK!" Howl's words were like an explosion into the quiet of the room, his chair screaming across the floor as he abruptly stood. "You went to a loan shark! Jesus on the cross, Megan what were you thinking?"

"YOU SHUT UP! You have NO right to say ANYTHING about this-" and for a moment Sophie couldn't make any sense of the conversation due to the amount of yelling until Howl's arm suddenly shot out, grasping firmly, and almost painfully onto Megan's upper arm.

"Where's Marie, Megan? Where are Marie and Neil?" It was he who was sounding hysterical now, and Sophie wondered if she couldn't do something to help. However, at the mention of her children, Megan seemed to calm down a bit.

"They're fine." She said at last, her eyes leveled at Howl. "I sent them away to live with my friend Sherry across town. They're perfectly safe."

At these words, Howl visibly relaxed. Megan wasn't finished however. Head down, Sophie could see she was beginning to shake.

"Gareth…" she said at last, "they took Gareth. They said…they said they're going to make him work off the debt…oh Howl!"

And once again she broke down into heart wrenching sobs.

Sophie didn't see much of Howl for the next three days. They had left Megan's house not long after that, Howl having extracted a few necessary details from his sister before heading out the door with Sophie all but running behind in an effort to keep up with his long strides. The second they were both back inside the castle, Howl had turned around and left through the manor door, vanishing into a transportation spell before he was even halfway down the walk. It was late after dinner before he finally returned. He headed to his scrap yard and remained there long after Sophie and Michael had gone to bed.

She awoke the next morning to find Howl, fully dressed and still slightly damp from his shower, searching through the volumes of books in their room. He spared her a distracted "good morning" before heading off down stairs mumbling to himself. When Sophie arrived down stairs, breakfast was waiting for her on the chair by the fire, the workbench having been completely over loaded with bits and parts of Howl's latest project.

"Where's Michael?" Sophie had asked.

"I sent him out to get something." And Howl went back to work.

Actually, Michael spent most of the morning and afternoon "out getting something," to the point where Calficer had even made a smart remark about Howl trying to keep his project a secret. Howl shot Calcifer an unamused glare and continued working.

In the flower shop things were busy as usual. There was a bit more work for Sophie to do without Michael to help her but she managed just fine. Shutting down the shop for lunch she entered the main room only to have a basket full of food shoved into her face. She instantly recognized the smell of one of Cesari's cakes, but also a package of tea, some fruit preserves and some eggs and cheese. On the other side of the basket, Howl's smiling face and tired, not-quite glass green eyes stared back at her.

"Do me a favor Sophie love, take this basket to Megan for me? I just can't spare a moment right now. Please?"

Sophie nodded dumbly, concern growing in her as Howl hurried over to the work bench to continue with his latest spell. He looked worn out. Had he slept at all last night? And when was the last time she had seen him eat?

"Oh, and Sophie," Sophie looked over but Howl didn't look up, "Better not mention the wedding just yet. Just tell her you're my cleaning lady or something…"

Sympathy gone like a drop of sweat in a desert, Sophie headed out the door, black dot down.

After knocking on the door for several minutes and realizing there was no one home, Sophie thought to head back to the castle when she spotted Megan on the sidewalk coming towards the front gate. At first the woman seemed wary of Sophie, but was able to shake most of it off once the stranger on her porch had been recognized. Not all of it, but most of it. After all, this woman was her good-for-nothing brother's, er…friend. Megan sighed, she really didn't need this today. "Hello. Can I help you?"

"Oh, no, no, I just, er…Howl wanted me to give you this."

Sophie presented the basket and Megan stared at it, blinking for a moment before finally accepting it.

"Oh, well, tell him I said thank you."

Sophie waited for the woman to move away so Sophie could go back to the castle, only to realize that she was actually blocking the other woman's way. Sophie shifted to the side, to let the other woman pass, wondering now how she was going to get back inside the castle.

"Was there something else?" Megan had noticed Sophie's hovering. Sophie thought fast.

"You really shouldn't look down on Howl so much." Even as the words left her mouth, Sophie knew she was on dangerous ground. However, she couldn't stop now, and she didn't really want to either. "He might be a coward, and an expert at slithering out of things, but he's a good man with a soft heart."

Megan stopped fumbling with her keys long enough to pass Sophie a disapproving stare. Sophie felt as though she was being sized up, and returned the gaze full force.

"I see Howl's taken to robbing cradles now, has he? How old are you? You can't be older than 20 miss…"

"Hatter, Sophie Hatter. And I'm quite old enough to be able to make my own decisions responsibly, thank you very much." If Megan was surprised by this, she didn't show it. And then realizing what had been implied, Sophie added, "Besides, Howl and I have a professional relationship. I'm his cleaning lady."

Megan's instant reaction to this was a disbelieving snort. "Cleaning lady? Oh please. You're some kind of actress aren't you, dressed up like that. Cleaning lady, ha! The day Howl can afford a cleaning lady is the day I marry the Prince of Wales."

Sophie grit her teeth, her mind trying to come up with a suitable response. Unfortunately, she never got the chance as Megan finally succeeded in opening her front door and stepping inside.

"Look. Tell Howl I thank him for the basket. It's more than I had expected from him, really. And do yourself a favor, don't get too attached to the fool. He has a history of cheating women out of their hearts. Good day."

And Sophie was left standing on the door step, thinking these people could rot in the waste before she invited them to her wedding.

The second day passed much the same as the first, and on the third day Sophie woke up to find herself alone in the house save for Calcifer who explained to her that Howl had left with Michael earlier that morning to take whatever spell they had been making to the King.

If Howl had slept only a little on the first night, Sophie was certain he had gotten none the night before. This was confirmed when he arrived back at around noon with Michael looking more worn and tired than Sophie had ever seen him. Sophie didn't even get the chance to force the food she had been preparing down him like she had intended. The second he stepped through the door his hand was on the little knob spinning it black side down.

"Howl!" It was only by using her most threatening voice that she was able to get him to pause, and sensing the urgency in his every motion, realized she would be unable to stop him. She sighed. "I'm making your favorite meat pie tonight, and I'll send Michael over to get a cake from Cesari's. And I'm going to make sure you eat every single bite off your plate no matter how late you get home, understand?"

Howl turned, presenting her with a genuinely tired smile.

"I love you too, cariad."

And then the thin layer of nothing swallowed him whole.

It was raining in Wales, which was no surprise at all. A thin, early autumn mist was falling from a lead sky, dampening the collar of Howl's long black coat as he walked to his car. The trench coat seemed appropriate attire to greet a loan shark with. Howl felt like the hero of some movie, about to walk into the gangsters den. He would be noble and heroic, save the hostage and then come back alive without a single scratch on him the way all hero's did. This gave him courage, and that was something he desperately needed at the moment.

The address Megan had given him was in the industrial section of town. It had taken a bit of prying to get it out of her, mostly because she believed him incapable of doing anything about the whole situation. The thought of her grateful smiling face when he showed up at Rivendell, Gareth in tow, gave him added courage as he pulled up in front of a small warehouse, about the size of a school gym. And then, of course, there would be the added bonus of seeing Gareth eat humble pie. That thought actually sent a smile across Howl's face as he climbed out of the car.

The smile stayed in place as he approached the front entrance, shifting into his trademark, deceptively honest and good natured grin. Game face on, Howl opened the door to the office part of the building to be greeted by the sight of two large and burly men dressed in leather jackets, slumped over their newspapers drinking coffee. The office was bare of all other furniture, with the exception of some fairly opaque drapes covering all the windows.

The two men jumped to attention the instant Howl entered, standing and posturing before him in a threatening manner, as if trying to make up for their lazy and slackish first impression.

"Wot do you want 'ere?" the first asked. Howl took a step back and raised his arms in a placating gesture.

"Now, now gentlemen. No need to get up. I've just come to chat with Gareth Parry. I heard he was working here?" His smile never faltered. Howl watched as the first man turned to the second, a jerking motion of his head served as instructions, and the second man disappeared quietly into the back.

Howl waited.

It wasn't long before the goon re-emerged, trailing behind someone who could quite easily be mistaken for a distinguished, slightly beyond middle-aged businessman. The man smiled at Howl, a smile much like Howl's own, deceptively good natured.

"Ah, Mr…"

"Jenkins, Howell Jenkins." He inwardly cringed at having to use his real name, but unfortunately it was the only one Gareth was likely to recognize. The heavy weight, probably a hand gun, in the pocket of each goon told Howl that it would be better to avoid suspicion. Besides, it wasn't like they would ever be able to find him again, nor did Howl intend to give them a reason to.

"Mr. Jenkins," the man greeted reaching for his hand. He introduced himself a moment later as, "Joseph Surrey," and then withdrew his hand. "Can I offer you anything? A coffee? Tea?"

"Oh no, very kind of you though. I'm just here to see my brother-in-law, Gareth Parry, I heard he was working here." Howl was careful to keep his tone light, nonchalant.

"Ah, Mr. Perry. I'm afraid he's very busy at the moment. He's really working very hard to pay off a small debt he owes to us. I told him it was no big deal, but the man is very stubborn and insisted on working to pay us back."

"Ah yes, my sister mentioned something about money, though I forgot, how much was the amount?"

"500 pounds. But with the interest, I'm afraid its risen to almost four times that amount, though he's managed to pay some of it off…" Mr. Surrey looked thoughtful for a moment, as if trying to remember the exact amount. Howl took his chance.

"I see. How much would that be in say…gold ounces."

The two goons let out an audible cough of surprise, but to his credit, Mr. Surrey only raised an eye brow.

"Its silly really," Howl began by way of explanation, "My uncle was a collector of old coins, and it seems he was sold a few fake ones from a place that doesn't really exist." He drew one of the coins from his pocket and allowed Surrey to examine it. "They don't have any value as collectors' pieces, except, of course for the metal. When I inherited the collection I thought I'd keep them to see if they might be worth something one day in craftsmanship. But of course, family comes first, and it seems at the moment, Gareth is in greater need of them than I."

Surrey continued to examine the Ingrish money. Pulling an old, well worn Swiss-army knife from his pocket, and using the point to whittle a hole in the centre of the coin, making sure not to lose any of the shavings. After a moment he stopped, looking contemplative.

"That is interesting. And you're sure these coins are all solid gold, all the way through?"

"Positive." Howl insisted, "But you're free to look me up if by any chance you discover that they're not. Gareth will know how to find me."

There was a slight pause, "…and will I know how to find him?" Mr. Surrey was no push-over.

"Oh. How silly of me. Megan made it sound as if were familiar with their address. Of course I'll write it down for you-"

"No need. No need." Mr. Surrey intervened, "I'll tell you what, give me ten of those gold coins and I'll call it even."

Howl grimaced, outwardly and inwardly. That was nearly twice the amount Gareth owed... "Oh dear, I'm afraid I only have nine of them. Hang on, let me count…" Reaching inside his coat, Howl performed a small conjuration to place nine coins in a small pouch, ignoring the goons as they reached for their hand guns.

"Relax gentlemen, we're all business men here." His smile was in place and he held his arms up in a gesture of peace, the pouch dangling from his fingers. The guns were put away again with a nod from Surrey, and Howl counted the contents of the small purse.

"Ah," sighed, examining the coins in his hand, "Nine here, plus the one I already gave you, that makes ten. Perfect." It wouldn't do to make the man think he had an endless supply of them. He made a move to hand them over to Surrey, but then paused. "I don't suppose someone could go inform Gareth that his services are no longer required here?"

Surrey looked over his shoulder at goon number two, who disappeared into the back once again. A few moments later he returned. A tired, rather thinner and over-worked version of the Gareth Howl remembered followed soon after. Gareth's reaction was immediate. "H-Howell!"

"Ah, Gareth, good to see you. Working hard as usual I see. Come here, let me get a better look at you."

Goon two gave Gareth a rather hard shove in Howl's direction, and the man walked forward, stumbling on the way. It was only then that Howl finally handed over the coins to a very content looking Mr. Surrey, in plain sight of a very surprised Gareth Parry.

"Wh-what? Howell, where did you get those? You-"

Howl cut the man off before he could say any more. "You remember my old uncle Chester. I inherited an old coin collection of his."

Unfortunately, Gareth sputtered "Chester? Who-"

"You might not remember him. He died well before you met Meg. Anyway, we'd best be on our way now. Good day to you gentlemen, and a pleasure doing business with you, Mr. Surrey." They shook hands briefly before Howl turned and left, herding a still confused Gareth out the door before him.

"Howell, what-"

"Get in the car." Happy façade gone, Howl marched to his car, getting himself inside and settled before reaching to unlock the passenger door so Gareth could attempt to cram his large figure into the tiny Austin. They didn't speak a word until they were around the corner and out of sight of the building.

"Howell, where on earth did you get that money."

There was a stern quality to Gareth's voice that made Howl want to punch him. Still, Howl hated getting angry, so he put on his pleasant grin again and said, "You're welcome. After all, what's a few thousand dollars between family. Really Gareth, you should have come to me in the first place if you were in financial trouble. That's what family does…"

"Oh, stuff it up your ass Howell. I know you don't have an uncle Chester. You never had any uncles period. And even if you did it'd still be a cold day in hell before they became stupid enough to leave a useless dolt like you with so much as a penny of inheritance! Now where did you get that money, and don't you dare tell me you earned it by working at a decent job like the rest of us. I wasn't born yesterday."

Howl gripped the steering wheel harder and wondered if Megan would mind him returning her husband to her as a frog. "Oh really, then tell me why someone who wasn't born yesterday would be stupid enough to go to a loan shark for help? What if the bastards had decided to grab Marie or Neil instead of you? Did you ever think of that you irresponsible oaf."

"As if you could know anything about responsibility you slimy, no good, leech of a man. You could have had everything, you know? Your father's company, a steady income, a family, but instead you petered it all away-"

"Shut up!" Howl stepped on the gas and the only remaining words from Gareth were curses as they all but squealed down the road and into the drive of Rivendell. The second the car was parked, Howl was up and heading out the door of the garage, hoping to reach the castle before Gareth could follow him. His plan was thwarted, however, when Megan appeared on the veranda, drawn by the unusually loud tire sounds that had disturbed the peace of the neighborhood.

"Howell, what on-" she stopped short. "g-Gareth!"

As he watched their happy reunion, Howl wanted to be sick. No, scratch that. He wanted to go home, to his castle, and his fire demon, and the perpetually clean, horribly bossy, nosy and absolutely wonderful woman who was his wife to be. The fatigue of the last two days was finally catching up with him and he decided that it would be okay if he slipped away now, unnoticed, without receiving the abundant gratitude which Megan undoubtedly felt for him at that moment. He was noble like that.

As he climbed the stairs to the veranda, however, he was stopped by the feeling of a heavy weight in his pocket.

Oh, right.

He hesitated for a moment, and then his opportunity slipped from his grasp as Megan came running up to him, a smile on her face the likes of which he hadn't seen directed at him since they were still

very young children. She threw her arms around him in a tight embrace, repeating his name and the words "thank you" while he felt his shirt become slightly damp. For a moment, he was glad he had stayed.

Not even Gareth could make him unhappy as he lumbered up the steps of the veranda, the scowl on his face directed specifically at Howl. Howl felt the weight in his pocket again, and, shifting his hold on Megan, reached down to pull out a second, slightly larger pouch which he knew was equally filled with silver and gold coins. When Megan released him to see what he was doing, he gently pushed the pouch into her waiting hands.

"Here, sis. That should be enough to cover the rent I still owe you."

Megan frowned thoughtfully, before slowly opening the pouch and nearly dropping it in awed surprise.

"Howell…where did you…how?" She reached inside, pulling out a perfect gold coin. "Howell?"

It was at that moment that Gareth moved. He stepped up, swiping the bag from his wife's hands and back into Howl's in a single motion. He looked at Howl as if he had shown up on their doorstep intent on giving them the bubonic plague.

"Gareth?" Megan blinked, confused.

"Take it!" Gareth hissed, "Take it and leave!"

"Gareth what?"

Gareth's only response was to turn around and pry the coin out of his wife's hands, throwing that at Howl as if it had burned.

"Get out of here! And I if I see you here again, I'll call the police."

"Gareth!"

Howl frowned. "Now see here, man. I know we don't like each other, and I know you're proud but…"

"Pride has nothing to do with it!" Gareth retorted, and turning to his wife he added, "Megan, ask him. Ask him where he got that money."

A look of question crossed Megan's face, and he knew he'd been cornered. He cast his sister a pleading look.

"Megan. Megan believe me, I can't tell you where I got the money but I swear…"

"Liar!" Gareth shouted, pushing Megan behind him. "Take it! Take it and leave. I and my family will have nothing to do with your blood money. We'd rather starve…"

"Gareth!" Megan turned to her husband, horrified. "Gareth what are you saying!"

"It's drug money, Megan." Gareth turned to his wife, "Think about it! The fool has no job, no home, what else could it be?"

"But, Gareth, Howell…"

She turned again.

"… Howell?"

However, Howl was no where to be seen. A bag of coins the only sign that he had ever been there.


	3. Blood and Money Part 2

It was getting on in the afternoon, and Sophie was just in the process of closing down the shop for the day when she heard the castle door open and close with a near slam. Setting down her basket of flowers she hurried inside the house, only to hear the bathroom door close loudly as well before she could even make out who it was. Of course, the fact that it was the bathroom door that slammed told her anyway.

She turned to Calcifer, who was looking at the bathroom door, a rather confused expression on his face. Then he turned to her, and with a shake of his head, told her that she should just leave Howl alone, for now.

It was several hours later before Howl came out of the bathroom. His suit was in pristine condition, his spells were in place, he smelled like lilacs and his now raven black hair was combed back in an impeccably neat fashion. He smiled to her and bent down to kiss her cheek in a very flirtatious way, saying, "Sophie my love! That meat pie smells absolutely divine! When do we eat?"

Sophie smelled a rat. Howl had never gotten so dressed up just for her, and now that it was getting to be late in the day, she doubted there would be anywhere else that he would be planning to go.

Sophie's nose started to itch.

Still, she had sworn she was going to get some food into the man, so she decided to do that first. Calling Michael in from the yard where he had been working on a spell, she set the work bench and soon everyone was sitting down and chatting amiably, or at least they tried to.

"So Howl, what was that spell you two were working so hard on the last two days?"

"Oh, can we please not discuss work. I don't want to think about it anymore. I really have been over working too much. The king must think that wizards are capable of surviving without sleep."

When Sophie looked at Micheal, he just shrugged his shoulders. "Don't look at me, I never really even got to touch it." The apprentice shot an accusing glare in Howl's direction, but said nothing.

They ate in silence for a moment. Just when Sophie was about to ask another question, Howl turned to Micheal.

"So Micheal, how is your Lettie?"

"I told you, here name's really Martha." And there he turned an accusing glare at Sophie, "And I can't believe you didn't tell me. All this time I've been calling her 'Lettie' and that's not even her name. I feel like a fool."

"Ah, Love makes fools of us all." Stated Howl, with an air of noble melancholy.

Sophie snorted, "Some more than others."

Howl turned to her, "Speaking from experience, Sophie?"

Sophie almost chocked on a piece of crust, and sent her fiancé a withering glare while Michael and Calcifer snickered together.

"Yes, yours." She managed, once she could speak again. Howl leaned forward and touched her forehead with his hand.

"Are you sure you're feeling alright Sophie? Your comebacks usually aren't quite so…lame…"

And again Calcifer and Micheal snickered and Howl sat back, looking smug.

"I'll show you lame." And she kicked his shin under the table. Howl grabbed his injured leg and held back few expletives while Michael and Calcifer began roaring with laughter. "And there's plenty more where that came from." Sophie stood and went to retrieve the cake.

"You laugh, but don't forget who pays for everything around here. I am so under appreciated. It's tragic!"

"The flower shop pays for everything, you're too much of a spendthrift to make money." Calcifer corrected.

"Speaking of money Howl, where did that sack go that the king gave you? There must have been two dozen coins in there at least!" Exclaimed Michael, eyes wide.

"And I thought we agreed not to speak about work anymore tonight. I'm so tired."

"Slitherer." Sophie muttered as she brought the cake out. Howl pretended not to hear her.

Half way through the cake, Sophie's patience ran out and she finally asked the question she'd been waiting to ask all night.

"So, Howl, is everything all right in Wales now?"

"Say, Michael, this cake is delicious. What's it called?"

Michael looked at Howl as if he'd grown a third nostril, "It's marvelous cake. Your favourite."

"Ah, yes well, this one is exceptionally good, tell me-"

"Howl!"

"Yes Sophie?"

Sophie was tempted to mash the remainder of the cake into Howl's face. "I said, is everything all right in Wales now? Is you sister okay? Is her husband back? What?"

"Perfectly all right. Gareth is back at home where he belongs, and Megan is happy once again. Mmm. They must have changed the recipe somehow. More chocolate? More cream? Or is it less of something."

"Is that where the coins went?" This from Michael

"Oh bother the money. That's all I am to you, isn't it?"

"Ha!" Calcifer snorted, "A second ago he was complaining about being under appreciated!"

"What is this, 'gang up on Howl' night?"

"Howl. If everything's fine, when can we go tell them about the wedding?"

"Not you too Sophie, love? I'm tired."

"You spent three hours in the bathroom when you could have taken a nap. When can we tell them about the wedding?"

"Oh come now Sophie, do we really need to do that..."

"YES! Yes we do!"

"Now Cariad-"

"When!"

Howl let out a long, suffering sigh, placing his half eaten cake back on the table as he started to rise. Sophie was just about to protest again when he spoke.

"We're not going to." He said, still looking at the table, "I'm shutting down the Wales entrance first thing tomorrow. Excuse me."

No one spoke for a moment as Howl slowly made his way to the stairs. Calcifer and Michael shared a meaningful look and Calcifer disappeared up the chimney while Michael headed for the flower shop. Sophie stared at her fiancé.

"…Howl." She began gently, but when he refused to answer her voice gained in volume. "Howl? What happened? Why are you shutting down the Wales entrance?"

He mumbled something she didn't quite here.

"Howl?" She reached for him, And in an instant, he turned on her.

"I SAID LEAVE IT ALONE!" The whole house seemed to shake with the force behind those words. Jars rattled, doors shook and dust fell from the ceiling.

Sophie jumped back instinctively, terror crossing her features.

It died down a second later, and she was left staring up at Howl, whose air quickly shifted from blind rage, to guilt, and shame. He muttered a hoarse, "sorry", turned, and fled up the stairs.

Sophie lay in bed that night, completely bereft of sleep. She had gone to bed early, hoping to maybe talk to Howl about what had happened, or at least comfort him in some way. Howl had been passed out snoring, dead to the world, and remained that way still. Sophie reminded herself that the man had been exhausted, and let him sleep.

She, however, remained wide awake, her mind a swirling mess of worry, guilt and anger. What had happened to make Howl want to leave Wales? As far as she knew, his family had always looked down on him, but that had never made Howl want to alienate himself from the country of his birth altogether. Whatever happened must have been truly hurtful to Howl. And, she added with a feeling of guilt, her nagging probably hadn't helped matters either.

A soft moan from her side made Sophie realize that all her tossing and turning were beginning to have an effect on Howl's slumber. Sighing quietly, Sophie removed herself from under the covers and put on her robe for warmth. Maybe tea and a chat with Calcifer would settle her brain. She took a minute to admire the handsome face of her beloved in slumber, his hair tousled and out of place, and a shadow growing on his chin. She smiled and slipped down the stairs.

She did not stop at the bottom though, nor did she stop at the kitchen. She didn't stop until she was standing before the door and the knob, gathering her courage before she turned it black side down. Mind made up, she strode across the room to the hearth, and used the poker to gently prod Calcifer from his sleep.

"Calcifer…psst…Calcifer…"

"…mn…heat your own water Howl…"

Sophie jabbed a little harder, "Calcifer!"

"What! Ow! Sophie!"

"Shhhh!"

"Shhh yourself! What do you want?"

"I need you to open the door for me when I come back."

Calcifer twisted green eyebrows in confusion, "Come back? Where are you going?"

There was a determined set in Sophie's jaw. "Howl won't talk about what happened in Wales, so I'm going to wake up the only other people who know and make them tell me."

Calcifer balked at her…then slowly relaxed into a mischievous grin. "He'll be mad as hell at you for it, Miss Nose. He may even slime the place…"

"Ha! Like I haven't dealt with that before."

The smile only grew. "Well then. Promise to fill me in on all the juicy details."

"As many as I can get." And with that, she was gone.

Megan was pulled out of sleep by a steady pounding, which she came to recognize as a sound, which was coming from their front door. Her heart instantly froze and Gareth stirred beside her.

"Bugger all. It's fucking one in the morning! What do they want!"

"Do you think it's Surrey?"

Gareth was silent for a moment. "More likely the police, looking for that no-good brother of yours."

The pounding continued.

"Fucking hell! All right already!" Gareth cursed and pushed himself from the bed. "Gods, this had better be good!"

Behind him, Megan was up as well, ready to fly to the nearest phone just in case it was Surrey again. She memorized the number for 911, thanking every deity she could think of that her children were still across town. She waited on the stairs while Gareth looked through the peep hole.

"What the bloody hell!" Gareth had the door open before Megan could move. "Lady! Do you know what time it is! For Chrissakes!

"I'm very well aware of the time, thank you, but this is important." Something about that voice sounded familiar and Megan struggled to place it. "What did you do to Howl?"

Megan made the connection immediately while Gareth started cursing up the storm.

"Miss Hatter?" Gareth stopped to stare at his wife. "Is something wrong? Is Howl okay?"

"Serve the bugger right if he got hit by a car." Megan and Sophie both glared at him, and Gareth decided to shut up.

Sophie began, "No he's not okay. He came home this afternoon very upset. He's threatened to never return to Wales again. I want to know why."

"How the hell should we know why that idiot does anything? You woke us up in the middle of the frigging night bec-"

"Gareth." There was a warning tone in Megan's voice. Gareth sighed.

"Look. I dunno what happened to him. I just told him to leave, and take his frigging drug money with him. Here, you can have it back. Like I said, we'd rather starve to death than live off his goddamn blood money." Gareth turned to retrieve the bag from the living room but stopped when Sophie spoke.

"…blood money." And she repeated again, as if in trance, "blood money?"

By this time it was quite clear to Gareth that the strange woman was shaking in rage. "Blood money! How dare you! How dare you, you stupid, hateful, wretch of a man! Blood money! Howl worked for that money to be able to help you and you turn around and accuse him of being a MURDERER!"

And then another thought struck Sophie, and she became pale just as quickly as she had become enraged. She let out a gasp of, "Oh gods, Howl!" and then flung her self at the Perry's front door. Gareth, thinking she was attempting to break into the house, moved to block her.

"Woah, hey now! What the hell do you think your doing!"

"Move! You goon, I'm trying to go home! I don't care if Howl never sees you again and so help me I wish he had never tried to help you in the first place. I should have listened to him about the wedding and not tried to invite you, and then he wouldn't have…oh Howl." She stopped struggling long enough to wipe tears from her eyes. Before reaching for the door with renewed strength. Gareth held firm.

"Damnit move!" By this time, even Sophie could feel that she was being hysterical, but didn't stop. "Oh Howl. Damn this war! Damn Strangia and the King, and damn you!" She stomped on Gareth's foot as hard as she could with her heel, only to be pulled away from him moments later by Megan.

"Witch! What the hell do you think your doing!"

Megan sent him a warning glare and returned to soothing Sophie out on the porch of their house, or at least trying to. She mumbled "there there's" and held Sophie in such a way that the younger woman knew she was being patronized. It was enough to sober her from her hysteria. Under control once again, she glared at Megan, an action that seemed to surprise the woman.

"You're just as bad…you know." She took a pause to catch her breath. "You all seem to think Howl's some kind of dead beat. I'll admit he's not perfect, but he's good at what he does, probably the best. There's no one around who can match him."

Megan backed off and Gareth let out a snort, "And what, pray tell, is he so good at? Leeching off others?"

Sophie grit her teeth, and made her decision in a split second. "If you must know, Howl is one of two royal wizard's of Ingary, and the best at what he does. He has a house, an apprentice, AND," She glared at Megan, "a cleaning lady."

In the silence that followed, Gareth moved quietly out the door, and stood just beside his wife. "Megan, go inside. You'd better call Arkam."

Megan blinked, recognizing the name of the local insane asylum. "Gareth?"

"Just go Megan."

And at that moment, Sophie made her move. Dashing around the far side of Megan, she lunged for the door, managing to grasp the handle just as Gareth forcefully pulled her out of the house. Sophie let him, taking the door with her, and then brought her leg up to kick him in the mid section once the door was closed. She called out, "Calcifer!" and then opened the door again, barely making it inside before she was tackled, this time being dragged harshly down to the floor.

"Get off of me you oaf! Get off, get off!"

"Sophie!"

"Calcifer!"

"Gareth?"

"Megan, call the… …"

There was a rather long period of silence as Megan and Gareth took in their surroundings. Too stunned to keep Sophie pinned any more, she wiggled out of Gareth's grasp and stood, dusting herself off. She waited a moment longer before letting out a long sigh.

"Come on, get up, get up. And be quite, Howl's sleeping upstairs."

Megan found her voice, "Th-this is Howl's house?"

"Castle actually, well…shop…manor…thing…We live here."

"Well for now, anyway. We may have to look elsewhere when Howl finds out you invited his family over. There'll be green slime for a week at least!" He looked over to find Megan and Gareth staring at him, mouths open. "What! Haven't you ever seen a fire demon before?"

"D-demon?" Gareth managed, intelligently.

"Oh for…Look, I'm out of here. Good luck Sophie." And then he was gone.

Sophie snorted. "Deserter." She reached over and lit the lamp on the workbench. There was another long silence, which was eventually broken by Megan once again.

"Um…Miss Hatter? What…what happened to our house?"

Sophie blinked. "What? Oh, nothing. Wales is right through that door."

Megan and Gareth looked, but only saw nothing.

"Oh hang. It's a magic door, see? Watch." And Sophie moved to shut the door, expertly spinning the knob yellow down, and opening it wide.

Market Chipping was a silence, dimly lit by the many gas lamps up and down the street.

She shut the door and spun the knob again, purple down.

They were greeted by stars and the smell of flowers drifting in on the evening breeze.

"The black dot leads to Wales." She said, closing the door yet again, "And connects with your front…door…" She drifted off, her attention being drawn by a commotion upstairs.

Howl woke with a start, having just experienced the most horrible, absolutely terrifying nightmare in his life. Ben had failed in destroying the device like they had planned, and the deaths it caused had been phenomenal. There had been blood, twisted and mangled bodies, eerie screams, and all of them directed at him, their murderer. And that hadn't even been the worst part.

"Sophie." He groped for her in the darkness, his heart jumping in his chest when his arm reached the edge of the bed without finding her. Panic seized him. No, it wasn't true. It couldn't possibly! He sat up in bed, and shouted out a light spell in his terror. Too strong, it blinded his eyes which had been accustomed to the darkness. Covering his eyes he stumbled out of bed, tripped over a chair, fell, cursed, got up again. Killed the light spell. Opened his eyes, saw spots. Found the door and was soon pounding down the stairs. He burst through the door at the bottom, Sophie's name on his lips, and stopped, frozen.

Megan.

Megan was in his living room.

And so was Gareth.

And so was Sophie.

Shock and anger welled within him, warring with existing fear and the desire to run to her and hold her.

"H…Howell?"

Green eyes locked on Megan. Anger won.

"Out! OUT! Both of you out right this instant! OUT!"

Megan surprised everybody by walking straight across the room and slapping Howl clear across the face.

"Humph. Is that anyway to greet your sister in your home?"

"I don't remember inviting you to my home, now-"

"Well you bloody well should have! Jesus Christ Howl do you know how worried I've been about you? How we've all been about you? You waltz in at any time of day, from where/going where only god well knows. You left us no permanent address, no phone number, no possible way of contacting you and expect us all to be okay with that? You bloody well know I had Gareth out combing the streets for you the first time you disappeared and mother and father never forgave themselves for failing you, blaming themselves…"

"Oh don't go there. Don't you dare! The only way I could have not failed them was to have kept dad's company and become a lousy furniture salesman like he was."

"That's not true-"

"It is true! He never wanted me, he wanted some bloody clone of himself, and you know it!"

"He wanted you to be happy the only way he knew how."

"Of course it was the only way he knew, he never even tried to do anything else."

"Oh, and you tried so hard to understand him?"

"Oh for - just get out!

"No."

"Get out!"

"No! Not until you invite me to your wedding!"

Howl didn't quite know what to say to that one. He glanced pointedly at Sophie, who looked just as surprised.

"I'm right aren't I?" Megan forged onward, "She mentioned a wedding…no cleaning lady goes and wakes people up in the middle of the night because their worried."

Sophie blushed lightly at that one.

"I'm still your sister, right? You'll invite me to your wedding, right?" there was a slightly pleading tone in Megan's voice now, "Right, Howee?"

It's a well known fact that Howl Jenkins has a soft heart, and that one word all but melted it. Wrapping his sister in his arms, he whispered, "I thought you had forgotten that…"

"Never Howee, never, you're my little brother after all."

"Hmph. I though I was just a irresponsible mooch, sucking you dry…"

"That's your fault, Mr. Wizard. You should have told me!"

"Would you have believed me?"

The happy moment lasted for a little longer, before Gareth cleared his throat. It seemed his brain had finally caught up with what was happening around him.

"Megan, its late. We should go now…"

The siblings gave each other one last squeeze before parting. "Come over for dinner tomorrow, I'd like to meet your cleaning lady."

"Now, now Megan." Howl scolded, "My fiancé and I will be sure to attend." Sophie and Howl escorted them to the door together, watching as they slipped through the thin veil of nothing. Sophie sighed, glad things had been worked out and now she could finally get some sleep. The moment she turned to leave, however Howl grabbed her, and Sophie soon found herself pinned to the back of the door by a rather angry looking wizard.

"Well Miss Nose, what do you have to say for yourself?"

"I, uh, Howm-mm" She felt her head pressed against the hard wood of the door, and the warm wetness of Howl's mouth slanting across her own, keeping her there.

"Sophie I love you."

And again the wood, the warm, and the wet…

She awoke to the sound of birds. Their songs filtering in with the sunlight that graced the sky in Wales. She shut her eyes against it, burying into the warm flesh below her. She knew she had to get up, but didn't really want to. She moved again, trying to block out more light. Arms circled around her, tracing lazy patterns down her naked back.

"I had the most awful dream last night, Sophie."

Sophie blinked and turned slightly to look at him, expecting to see humor in his eyes. She was surprised to find him serious.

"I used magic against Strangia in the war. High Norland found out, and sent people after me…but it wasn't me that they… they…"

Sophie moved into him, pressing her body against his, letting him feel her. "So that was how you got the money. You gave in to the king's request." The king and his advisors had been trying for months to get Howl and Ben to produce magic for the war, but both had refused, until now…

"Don't worry about it, Cariad" Howl kissed the top of her head, playing gently with her red-gold hair. "After all, you're engaged to the greatest slither-outer of all time"

Ben Suliman, first royal wizard of Ingary, stood at the front of the regiment beside the massive hunk of iron that was Howl's destructive magic spell. Staring out ahead at the Strangian army before him, Ben had only one thought.

"You owe me big time for this, Howl."

Facing the large object, he grasped it with the power of his magic and lifted it above his head. He hurled it across the gap toward Strangia's army when a sudden, single cannon ball seemed to fly out of their ranks and smash the spell to smithereens. There was a huge explosion, soldiers on both sides were knocked first backward and then forward as the wind rushed passed them and up, forming the most gigantic mushroom cloud anyone in Ingary had ever seen. There were mini explosions and flashes of lightning from inside the cloud, and the heat could be felt right to the back ranks of both armies. But for the most part, no one was hurt.

Strangia's moral was severely shaken, however, and they decided to pull back for the day and re-group, especially when Ben cast an illusion spell to make it seem as if he had ten of the same weapon standing at the ready. Ignoring their commands, the Strangian soldiers ran, scattering like flies. Ingary declared its victory soon after.

"Real shame about that cannon ball though," one general was heard to comment. "Imagine the chances of that happening?"

And everyone agreed.


End file.
